Barcelona suffered a shock 2-1 defeat in their last-16 first leg tie against Levante in the Copa del Rey on Thursday. A late penalty from Philippe Coutinho gave Barcelona the boost it needed to stay in the competition as they head to the second leg tie.
In the absence of team regulars, including Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, the La Liga champions had their work cut out for them as Levante's Erick Cabaco and Borja Mayoral scored in the 4th and 18th minutes to give their side the lead.
Barcelona denied Levante the chance to crush them with a third goal from substitute Jose Luis Morales. Coutinho's kick found the net in the 85th minute after Denis Suarez was fouled in the penalty area. Levante will face Barca, who have won the last four editions of the Spanish Cup, at Nou Camp in the second leg next Thursday.
Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde's decision to change the line-up was criticised following his side's performance in the first half. Considering Messi and Suarez along with Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba and Ivan Rakitic were rested for the match, and Barcelona are preparing for their upcoming matches in the run up to the Champions League, it is to be noted that Valverde's decision was not off despite some below par performance in the game.
Barcelona's previous two games against Levante saw them suffer their only loss in the La Liga last season when they were defeated 5-4. They more than made up for it after Messi scored a hat-trick to take Barcelona to a 5-0 win last month.
